More than 70 percent of millennials use a streaming service, while only 64 percent subscribe to cable.
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As this diversity in preferences continues to grow, we’ve added new features and offerings to try and meet the needs of everyone who loves TV. However, Comcast has been criticized by Netflix for its data cap practices, and the announcement of Stream TV seems poised to reignite those debates. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever offered: no extra device or additional equipment required…or even a TV.
Stream TV is available to existing Comcast Xfinity internet-only customers in the Chicago metropolitan area and can be accessed from laptops, tablets and phones in users’ homes.
This article was updated with further explanation from Comcast, more details on the FCC’s net neutrality rules, and requirements from Comcast’s NBCUniversal merger conditions.
Stream TV, Comcast’s mobile-first IPTV service for cord-cutters, launched Thursday in Chicago, a move that follows the service’s debut earlier this month in the Greater Boston region, which includes eastern MA, New Hampshire and Maine.
Comcast’s webpage has also provided information concerning other aspects of the service.
“Stream TV is a cable streaming service delivered over Comcast’s cable system, not over the Internet”.
The regulations also broadly ban Internet service providers from engaging in conduct that interferes with people’s ability to access Web content. Zero-rating could potentially violate that prohibition depending on the circumstances; the FCC has said it intends to take a case-by-case approach the question. About 25% of Comcast’s video sub base is now on X1. Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds, and brings customers personalized video, communications and home management offerings. But that apparently doesn’t apply to Stream TV since the in-home streaming isn’t traveling over the public Internet. It doesn’t provide the same flexibility as streaming services like Netflix or Sling TV, which work the same on any Internet connection. Users are able to keep a few content for later watching through a so-called “cloud DVR”, though it’ll only allow up to two shows to be recorded at a time.
The news ticker outside the Today Show announces GE’s sale of NBC to Comcast in NY.
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The company plans to launch Stream TV nationwide early next year. The rollout has gone slower than expected, though.
